Automatic cut-off and filter.



PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.

, w. w. BAYS. AUTOMATIC GUT-OFF AND FILTER.

APPLICATION PSI-ED MAR. 31, .1902.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

No. 740,217. PATBNTED SEPT 29, 1903.

' w. W. .BAYS.

AUTOMATIC GUT-OFF AND FILTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR 31, 1902.

geese, 1 i W Y I V I l r f lfievgcagys PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.

W. W. BAYS. AUTOMATIC GIVE-OFF AND FI-L'EER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 31, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 no monnn 262223772 fif ays, M

UNIIE STATES;

iatented September 29, 190$.

'PATENAT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC, CUT-OFF AND FILTER.

QIE'ECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,217, dated September 29, 1903. Application filed March 3], 1902. I Serial No. 100,799. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM W. BAYS, a citi-' zen of the United States, residing at Salisbury, in the county of Rowan and State of North Carolina, have invented a new and useful Automatic Out-OE and Filter, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic rain-water cut-olfs and filters, and particularly to means for conducting the first flow of impure rain water from a roof or watershed to 'a waste pipe or conduit and subsequently defleeting the clean water to cause it to enter a cistern or other suitable reservoir, the construction constituting my present invention being an improvement upon the apparatus shown and described in my former patent, No. 513,000, granted January 16, 1894.

The objects of the present-invention are, primarily, to simplify the construction and reduce the cost of manufacture by adopting certain forms and relative arrangements of parts which are capable of being'produced with greater facility than corresponding parts of the construction embodied in the said for mer patent.

A further object of my invention is to provide improved means whereby the'interior of the apparatus is made accessible for the purpose of repairing and cleansing the same and at the same time to provide such a relative arrangement of parts as to reduce to the minimum the liability of accumulations of iuipu rities in the casing.

A further object'of the present invention is to secure the automatic deflection of the current of Water after a sufficient length of time has elapsed to relieve a roof or. Watershed of dust, leaves, and other impurities, said means being provided with larger ports or openings for the passage'of the liquid than in my said former construction to avoid the choking or clogging of the parts. r

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a construction and arrangement of parts that all of the water which first enters the apparatus passes out of the same into the waste pipe or conduit, and thus carries with it any impurities which may have been introduced, the counterbalancing receptacle or cup being so disposed with relation to the tilting spout as to cause its bottom or with my invention.

lower side to form a. watershed in all positions.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view 'of a cut-0E and filter constructed in accordance Fig. 2 is a similar view with the front head removed, the deflector being shown in its initial or normal position.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the tilting deflector in its adjusted position adapted to discharge into the cistern or reservoir. Fig. 4 is a detail view in perspective of the tilting deflector. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the plane indicated by the line 6 6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a modification of the apparatus in which the condncting-spout'is flared or bowl-shaped at the top, the construction of the weight-receptacle modified, and the outlets arranged in a base beneath an elliptical casing and dispensing with the guards or splashers.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings. V

In the construction illustrated in the drawings, 1 designates a casing of either circular or elliptical cross-sectional construction, and

the ends thereof'are closed by heads, of which the front head 2 is removably fitted upon the wallet the casing to give access to" the interior thereof and provide for the dismounting of the contained mechanism, as hereinafter more fully explained. 1 It will be understood that the casing may be truly cylindrical in construction or of any other shape adapted for the purpose, although that form having curved side walls is preferable, as beis the bowl 4: of a receiving-hopper, the same having rounded side walls,which are inturned or contracted contiguousto their upper edges, as shown at 4, to prevent water deposited in the bowl from splashing over the walls ico.

thereof. the hopper and permanently attached thereto in communication with an opening in the bottom thereof is a conductor 5, adapted to fit in the neck 3 and descend therethrough into the interior of the casing. Arranged transversely and horizontally in the bowl of the hopper is a coarse screen 6, of suitable interstitial material, adapted to check coarse impurities, such as leaves, and secured at its edges to the walls of the hopper in any suitable manner. Also arranged in the hopper below the screen 6 and of less diameter or area than the same is an upwardly-concaved breakwater or water-check 7, whereby water discharged into the hopper from a down-spout 8 is checked to avoid the impact upon the interior mechanism of the filter which might result during a heavy fall of rain. I also preferably provide the down-spout with a plurality of elbows 8 8 for the purpose of breaking the force of the discharge. Said basin-like breakwater, as illustrated in the drawings, is attached to and supported by the screen 6 and is provided with a central opening,with which communicatesa deliveryspout 9 of less area than the conveyer 5 and extending downwardly therethrough, with its lower extremity at or below the lower end thereof. Obviously any overflow from the breakwater 7 will pass down through the hopper and conveyer outside of the deliveryspout, as hereinafter explained.

Pivotally mounted within the casing is a tilting deflector consisting in the construction illustrated of an oscillatory spout or chute 10 open at both ends, its upper end receiving the lower-ends of the conveyer 5 and delivery-spout 9 and preferably tapered toward its lower end to form an outlet which is of greater area, however, than the downspout or rain-water conductor 8. This oscillatory spout communicates laterally with a variable-weight receptacle 11 by means of an inlet-port 12 and an outlet-'port13, the latter being of smaller area than the former to provide foraless rapid flow of water out of than into said receptacle. The spout 10 is capable of a swinging or oscillatory movement limited by the width of its mouth or upper end, of which the walls are adapted to come in contact with opposite sides of the conductor 5, as shown, respectively, in Figs. 2 and 3;

but in' all positions of the spout 10 the bot-- let-opening ceases.

Depending from the said bowl of oscillatory spout.

' panyiug drawings.

same in all positions of the tilting deflector, of which the spout 10 forms a part. The trough 14 is of a width much less than the width of the spent 10 and preferably is of a Width only slightly greater than the diameter of the delivery-spout 9, whereby any overflow therefrom is adapted to pass downwardly through the oscillatory spout 10. This trough 14 is fitted with an arched interstitial guard or screen 15, adapted to form a shed or deflector for solid objects deposited thereon to prevent the same from remaining in the. path of descending water, and the meshes of the guard 15'are preferably finer than those of the guard 6. Also carried by the oscillatory spout at the opposite side from the variableweight receptacle 11 is a permanent-weight receptacle 16, adapted to counterbalance the variable-weight receptacle when the latter is empty, or nearly so,'or, more properly, when said variable-weight receptacle is not filled to such a point as has been predetermined as that desired for reversing the position of the The permanent weight, of which the receptacle 16 forms a part, is adjustable to vary the point or the amount of the contents of the variable-weight receptacle which shall be necessary in order to accomplish the above-described reversal in the position of the deflector, and the means by which the resistance offered by the permanent weight may be varied consist, as in the construction illustrated, of poises 17, of stone, metal, or any suitable material, depositedin the permanent-weight receptacle 16. This weighbreceptacle 16 is connected with the spout l0lby means of a-stem 18, and the interior thereof may be divided by partitions 19 to form compartments 20 for the reception of the said poises. Also said compartments are provided in their upper sides with suitable openings 20 for the introduction of poises, and these openings may be fitted with removable caps 21 to exclude moisture. In

case, however, any water should gain access to the interior of the receptacle 16 it is allowed to escape through vents 22, provided for that purpose in its bottom. The weightreceptacle 16, which is arranged at right angles to the stem 18, is preferably of cylindrical shape, being circular in cross-sections, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the accom- Oommunicating with the casing at its bottom is a waste pipe or conduit 23 and a pure-water pipe or conduit 24, the latter being adapted to extend to a cistern or other suitable reservoir, the mouths of these pipes or conduits being separated by an interposed longitudinally-arranged separator or partition 25, upon either side of which the lower or discharge end of the spout 10 may be arranged, according to the position of the deflector. (See Figs. 2 and 3.) This separator or partition terminates short of the lower end of the spent 10 and extends from the rear head of the casing to aguard -or splasher 26 of crescent shape, which is arranged at the front edge of the side wall of the casing contiguous to the plane of thefront removable head 2, said removable head being suitably flanged, as shown at 2, to inclose the contiguous edge of the side wall. The function of this imperforate guard or splasher is to prevent water discharged from the spout 10 from escaping from the casing at the point of connection of the removable head therewith, and as an additional means of preventing such escape I have found it desirable under certain circumstances to employ an auxiliary removable guard 2'7, mounted upon and extending above the upperedge of the fixed guard 26 and preferably held in place by means of clips 28, which engage said upper edge of the fixed guard. This auxiliary guard extends upwardly between the contiguous end of the spent 10 and the removable head of the casing; but it is understood that under ordinary circumstances the fixed guard will be found sufficient to.

prevent the escape of the contents of the casing and cause the same to pass properly into one of the pipes or conduits 23 24%.

The oscillatory deflector is mounted in the casing by means of a longitudinally-disposed spindle 29, extending through and fixed to the spout 10 and terminally mounted in bearings in the front and rear heads, suitable concave-convex buttons 29 being attached exteriorly to said heads to cover the extremities of the spindle, and in practice I prefer to apply an auxiliary open-topped half-bearing 30 to the inner surface'of the rear head in order to facilitate the introductionof the rear end of the spindle into the bearing in the head by serving asa means for properly locating the ends of the spindle. Also a bear.-

ing-{button 31 may be. secured to the inner surface of the front bearing-bar 32 to bear against the front wall of the spent 10 and properly position it in the casing out of corn tact with the removable head. The removable bearing-bar 32 is secured transversely to the front end of the casing to receive the front end of the spindle 29 and form proper bearings therefor, that bar which is attached to the front of the casing having inturned extremities 33, which bear against the inner surface of the side wall of the casing and supported bycleats 33, attached to the inner wall of the casing 1.

From the. above description it will be seen that water. deposited in the hopper by the down-spout 8 or. its equivalent will be strained so far as large solid articles are concerned by.

the screen orinterstitial guard 6 and falling upon the breakwater 7 will pass without dangerous violence or rapidity of movement through the delivery-spout 9 to the deflect.

ing-trough It, the overflow from said breakwater passing over the edges thereof and descending directly through the hopper and its conveyor 5. to and through the spout 10 and.

thence to the, conduit 23. Water deposited in the deflecting-trough will bestrained of.

smaller solid articles by the arched screen or guard 15, which will in turn be Washed downwardly through the spout 10 to the outmanent weight-as, for instance, when the level of the water in the receptacle 11 reaches a plane indicated by the dotted line aof Fig. 2. Up to this time all the surplus water deposited in the hopper has been flowing through the apparatus and escaping through the waste-pipe 23; but when the variable weight exceeds the permanent weight the deflector will be tilted or reversed to occupy a position indicated in Fig. 3, with the lower or discharge end thereof upon the opposite side of the partition or separator 25, and hence'in position to dischargeinto the pure-water pipe or conduit 24. If the introduction of water into the hopper continues, a portion, at least, thereof will continue to flow through the trough 14 into the receptacle 11 to supply the waste due to the escape through the outletopening 13, the floor or bottom wall of the receptacle 11 being inclined downwardly toward saidoutlet, as indicated in Fig. 3. In case the level of water rises above the plane of the inlet 12, as in case of a heavy flow of water into the hopper, the contents of the re ceptacle 11 will back up into the trough 1d and overflowing the sides thereof will doscend directly through the spout 10 into the pipe or conduit 2 L. After the introduction of Water into the hopperhas ceased, ho wever,

the flow through the outlet-opening 13 will continue until the receptacle 11 is sufficiently drained to reduce the variable weight below that of the permanent weight, whereupon the latter will return the deflector to its normal 7 position. (Illustrated in Fig. 2.)

In addition to the above-described mechanism I have found it desirable under certain circumstances to employ an im perforate guard 34 within the spout 10, covering the dischargeopening 13 and having a closed upper end and an open lower end to prevent water descending directly through the spout 10 from interfering with the outflow through the opening 13.

Furthermore, I mayemploy a perforated or interstitial guard35, inclining downwardly and inwardly from the lower extremity of the conveyer 5 to a point contiguous to the trough l-t, for throwing Water from the inlet-opening 12 and also forcausing the water to be thrown against the opposite wall of the spout 1O ata .point I) in order to counteract 'the opposite effect of water descending directly through" the spout and coming in contact with the same wall thereof at a point a, and" hence tending to reverse the position of the deflector.

' neck 3, as illustrated in Fig.1.

In other words, it is my object to so arrange the parts as to allow the reversal of the deflector to be caused solely by the variable weight. and not by the impact of water descending suddenly and rapidly through the apparatus before sufficient time has elapsed to properly charge the receptacle 11. As set forth in my former patent above mentioned, it is my object to allow sufficient water to fiow through the apparatus before the reversal of the deflector takes place to insure the proper cleansing of the surface from which the water is derived-as, for instance, the roof or watershed-whereby when the reversal of the deflector has occurred the water which enters the pipe or conduit 24 will be relieved of those impurities which are liable under ordinary circumstances to accumulate upon the exposed surface of a roof or equivalent structure. 4

Various means for supporting the casing may be devised to suit the peculiar conditions under which the apparatus is used. For instance, it may be provided with means for attachment to a wall or vertical supportor, as illustrated in the drawings, the base, plate 36, by which the lower vertical portions of the pipes 23 and 24 are connected, may, as illustrated in Fig. 1, be arranged upon a horizontal support or bench 37 and also may be secured thereto in any suitable manner. Also the sides of the casing may be provided with suitable handles 38, and curved braces 39 may extend upwardly from the base plate 36 around the outer sides of the casing, and also may be attached to the opposite sides of the Furthermore, in order to facilitate access to the interior of the casing, whereby the contained mechanism may be viewed without removing the caphead 2, I may provide the latter with a suit-- able opening fitted with a removable or flap door 40, having a grip 41 and secured in place by any suitable hinges and locking devices 42.

In Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings is illustrated the preferred form of my invention, wherein the'hopper 4 is conical or funnel-shaped instead of being in the form of a bowl, as illustrated in the preceding figures of the drawings. The breakwater or watercheck 7*, which is much deeper than that illustrated in the first form of my invention, is conical or funnel-shaped, similar to the hopper 4, and it conforms to the configuration of the same, being arranged concentric within and spaced from the hopper. The opening of the top of the casing 1" and the neck 3 are circular in cross-section instead of being elliptical, as before described, and the hopper is also circular in cross-section. livery-spout 9, which extends from the bottom of a breakwater or water-check 7 is of the same diameter throughout its entire length instead of being tapered, as before described, and the said breakwater or water- I check 7 has its top of greater diameter than that of the down-spout S in order that all of The dethe water falling therefrom will be discharged into the mouth of the breakwater or watercheck, whereby the latter will effectually break the force of the falling water even although the rainfall is sufficient to overflow the breakwater or water-check. The funnel-shaped portion of the water check or breakwater may be made of any diameter desired to secure the result just explained.

The oscillatory spout 10 is provided with a bowl-shaped upper portion 10 and it has sufficient capacity to receive the circular delivery-spout or conductor 5, and its lower portion instead of being tapered, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is of a uniform transverse area throughout its entire length. The casing is slightly elliptical, being bulged at opposite sides to provide greater space for the variable-weight receptacle 11 and the weightreceptacle 16*, which extend from opposite sides of, the oscillatory spout 10. The weight-receptacle 16, which is preferably elliptical in cross-section, consists of a hollow or tubular arm of the same transverse area throughout its entire length, extending from the oscillatory spout and provided with partitions 19, forming compartments 20" for the reception of weights or poises 17; but it may be of any other form in cross-section. The weights or poises 17 are adapted to be arranged in the diiferent compartments 20,

which by being located at diiferent distances from the pivotal point of the oscillatory spout enable the weights or poises to be adjusted longitudinally within it to vary its effect and to vary the time required for the water accumulating in the variable-weight receptacle 11 to counterbalance the weights or poises 17 and tilt the oscillatory spout from its normal position. Bymaking the casing 1 elliptical the variable-weight receptacle 11 and the weight-receptacle 16 may be constructed-of greater capacity than is possible with a cylindrical casing, such as is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying drawings.

The innermost compartment'of the weightreceptacle 16 is of greater size than the other compartments and maybe provided with balls 16*, forming movable poises and adapted to roll from one end of the innermost chamber to the other to vary the leverage of the weight-receptacle 16 and also to form a signal for indicating that the device is in working order; but these movable or rolling weights or poises may be dispensed with, if desired. The weight-receptacle is provided at the bottom of the compartments with drainopenings 22, similar to those heretofore described, and it is otherwise constructed similar to the weight-receptacle 16.

In order to obviate the necessity of employing the guards or splashers 26 and 27, heretofore described, the apparatus is provided with a base 1", of general elliptical form in crosssection, located beneath an opening 1 of the bottom of the casing 1 and provided with a ICO central separator or partition extending longitudinally of the base portion and dividing the same into two compartments 23 and 24 communicating, respectively, witha waste pipe or conduit 23 and a pure-water.

pipe or conduit 24!, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings. The lower end of the lower portion of the oscillatory spout 10 extends through the opening 1 of the'bottom of the casing 1 into the base 1 and it isadapted to deliver water in either of the compartments 23 and 24 The bottom of the base portion or supplemental casing 1 is concavely curved at each side of the partition 25 to provide inclined portions at each sideof each pipe or conduit, whereby the contents of the base or supplemental casing 1 will thoroughly drain.

The longitudinal separator or partition 25 is secured to the frontand back of the base or supplemental casing and to the center of the bottom at the apex or raised portion formed by the curved side portions of the bottom. Furthermore, it will be understood that various changes as to form, proportion, and details of construction and arrangement may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. For instance, the bowl lO illustrated in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings may be used in connection with the tapering lower portion ofthe oscillatory spout illustrated in Figs. 2 andB of the drawings, and the tapering spout 10 may be lengthened and extended into a base or supplemental casing of the construction shown in Fig. 6.

The weight-receptacle 16 illustated in Figs.

2 and 3 of the drawings may be employed in connection with the spout 10 having the bowl-shaped upper port-ion illustrated in Fig. 6. The weight-receptacle 16, which consists of a straight tubular arm and which is illustrated in Fig. 6, may be employed in connection with the tapering spout 10 of'Figs. 2 and 3, and the curved or bowl-shaped hopper 4 with its flat or elliptical depending spout may be used in connection with the oscillatory spout having the bowl-shaped upper portion, as shown inFig. 6. These and similar changes are clearly within the scope of my invention. Also, in the form shown by Fig. 5,'I may dispense with the front and back walls of the casing 1 and employ a fixed bearing-bar at the back side of the casing to support the rear end of the spindle 29, thus making a skeleton form of the casing.

What is claimed is- 1. In a cut-off and filter, the combination with a casing provided with inlet and outlet openings, of a plurality of outlet-pipes, and a tilting tubular deflector-spout adapted to swing into communication with either ontlet-pipe and with its discharge end wholly "overlying the same, permanent-and variable weight receptacles,the variable-weight receptacle associated with the spout communicating solely with said spout by inlet and outlet openings.

2. In a cut-off and filter, the combination with a casing provided with a plurality of 7o outlet-pipes, of a tilting tubular deflectorspout adapted to swing into communication with either outlet-pipe and with its discharge end wholly overlying the same, permanent and variable weight receptacles associated with the spout, the variable-weight receptacle communicating solely with said spout by inlet and outlet openings of different capacities.

3., In a cut-ofi and filter, the combination with a casing provided with a plurality of on tlet-pipes,of a tiltingdeflector-spout adapted to swing into communication with either outlet-pipe and with its discharge end wholly overlying the same, permanent and variable weight receptacles associated with the deflector-spout, the variable-weight receptacle communicating solely with said spout by inlet and outlet openings, and a deflectingtrough disposed in the spout in communication with said inlet-opening of the variableweight receptacle.

at. In a cut-off and filter, the combination with a casing provided with a plurality of outlet-pipes, of a tilting tubular deflector- 95 spout adapted to swing into communication with either outlet-pipe and withits discharge end wholly overlying the same, permanent and variable weight, receptacles carried by the spout, the variable-weight receptacle mo communicating solely with said spout by inlet and outlet openings, and a deflectingtrough mounted in the spout in communication with the inlet-opening of the variableweight receptacle and permanently inclined [o5 downwardly toward said opening.

5. In a cut-off and filter, the combination with a casing provided with a plurality of outlet-pipes, of a tiltingdeflectormounted in the casing, said deflector comprising an oscillatory spout adaptedto communicate with either outlet-pipe and provided with permanent and variable weight receptacles, the variable-weight receptacle communicating with the spout by inlet and outlet ope nn5 ings, and a guard arranged within the spout to cover the outlet-opening, and having a WILLIAM w. Bars."

' "Witnesses:

H. L. ATKINS, J. M. MAurIN. 

